Landslides in Lanckorona
Heavy rainfall in southern Poland has brought rivers back up to alarming levels, with continuing landslides and a bridge collapsing.
On Friday afternoon high water on the River Poprad forced a railway bridge to collapse between the towns of Nowy and Stary Sacz in the Malopolska province.
Rail connections between Tarnow, Muszyna, Krynica and with Slovakia have been cancelled as a result, with possible detours diverting trains through borders in Zwardon and Zebrzydowice (with the Czech Republic).
According to fire services in Nowy Sacz, two other bridges over the River Dunajec, pose a threat of collapse and have either been closed or are open only to pedestrian traffic.
Landslides “more destructive than earthquakes”
Heavy rainfall throughout May has meant many areas have become prone to landslides, with the most dramatic taking place in Klodne, near Limanowa, on Wednesday.
The first reported case of landslide activity was in Lanckorona, south of Krakow. However, areas in the south-eastern Podkarpacie province have noted up to 1,300 landslides, with 500 people having to evacuate their homes.
Head of the Polish Academy of Science’s Institute of Geology, Prof. Marek Lewandowski, told TVN24 news that Poland does not have adequate construction law that takes such natural phenomena into account.
“Landslides happen sporadically. If they took place all the time, then the construction law would take it into account,” Lewandowski said, adding that after 3 years it is possible to rebuild on such land.
A map of Poland with landslide risk areas is still being drawn up, the geology professor informed, but will probably not be finished “until 2016.”
“Across the world, the annual loss due to landslides is greater than due damages caused by earthquakes,” Lewandowski underlined, adding that over the past 30 years over 100,000 people have died thanks to landslides. More than 90 percent of Poland’s landslide zones are in the Podkarpacie province.
Army assistance
Around 2,500 soldiers are currently active in 13 of Poland’s 16 provinces, working in the Vistula and Oder basins.
A lot of heavy machinery has been dispatched to help with the evacuation of flood victims or to help repairs in damaged flood defences. 25 transporters, 9 helicopters and around 80 other hardware items have all been put to use.
Much of the army activity is in the south of Poland, in the Malopolska, Swietokrzyskie and Podkarpacie privinces, where up to 800 soldiers are repairing flood walls near the towns of Tarnobrzeg and Sandomierz, which have been most affected by the high water. (jb)
Sources: PAP/tvn24
Top photo: Anna Spysz / Krakow Post
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